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Video: U.S., S. Korea deploy 'gunboat diplomacy'

Closed captioning of: U.S., S. Korea deploy 'gunboat diplomacy'

>>the
president of south korea
said in a speech today that he had "failed to protect them from last we can's attack by
north korea
." even as he spoke, a joint u.s.-
south korean military
exercise was under way in korean waters, an unmistakable show of course.
richard engel
has the latest from
south korea
.

>> reporter: it's old fashioned gun boat diplomacy. just the presence of the 97,000 ton nuclear powered "
uss george washington
" aircraft carrier and its strike group is meant to send a blunt message to
north korea
. stop aggression against the south. and american deterrence isn't just at sea. on a snow covered firing range,
american soldiers
were testing their
bradley fighting vehicles
. it's a routine drill. not a sign commanders say the
united states
is preparing for war. the 28,500 american troops here in
south korea
have been put on a heightened state of readiness. they've increased surveillance of
north korea
and commanders here say they are ready to respond to any
north korean
aggression at a moment's notice. captain a.j. boyle says
u.s. troops
are mostly waiting, watching and ready.

>>if given the call, we are ready to help defend the
republic of korea
.

>> reporter: the mood among
american forces
is calm.

>>i don't think they should be taken out of context.

>> reporter: but the
united states
and
south korea
face a tough balancing accused, containing the often unpredictable north without provoking it. today, the
south korean president
promised repercussion it is the north attacked again. tough talk. but hours later,
south korea
canceled an artillery drill.
south korea
wants to push back, but doesn't want war.
richard engel
, nbc news,
south korea
.

A South Korean border guard mans a post through a fence draped with re-unification ribbons near the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea, on Dec. 22, 2010. South Korea vowed Wednesday to "punish the enemy" as hundreds of troops, fighter jets, tanks and attack helicopters prepared massive new drills near the heavily armed border a month after a deadly North Korean artillery attack.
(Wally Santana / AP)
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A North Korean defector takes part in a candle light vigil on the eve of the one month anniversary of the North Korea's attack on Yeonpyeong Island in downtown Seoul, South Korea, on Dec. 22.
(Ng Han Guan / AP)
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A combination of photos shows North Korean soldiers taking part in a shooting exercise at a field in Kaepoong county, on the north side of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, in this picture taken from south of the DMZ in Paju, about 31 miles north of Seoul, on Dec. 22.
(Jo Yong-hak / Reuters)
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Bae Bok-soon (R), an older sister of Bae Bok-chul, cries during the funeral for the two civilians who died when North Korea shelled Yeonpyeong Island on November 23, in Incheon, west of Seoul on De. 6.
(Jo Yong-hak / Reuters)
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Crew members watch as an F/A-18E Super Hornet lands on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington during a naval exercise with South Korea in the Yellow Sea on Tuesday, Nov. 30. The drills come amid heightened tension in the region after a North Korean artillery attack on South Korea's Yeonpyeong island last week.
(Park Ji-hwan / AFP - Getty Images)
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Staff watch radar screens in the Combat Direction Center on the USS George Washington during the military drills off South Korea.
(Wally Santana / AP)
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Former South Korean special agents whose mission was to infiltrate North Korea, sing a military song during a rally on the Yeonpyeong island, South Korea. About 85 former agents, who criticized the North's attack and urged the South Korean government to punish Pyongyang, landed the island Nov. 30 and said they would stay for a week to help with reconstruction.
(Lee Jin-man / AP)
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South Korean marines watch President Lee Myung-Bak's news conference on a television minitor on Yeonpyeong island on Nov. 29. Lee condemned North Korea's recent shelling of the South Korean border island, calling an attack against civilians an "inhumane" crime.
(Jeon Heon-Kyun / EPA)
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South Korean ships stage off the coast of South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island on Nov. 28 as war drills by the United States and South Korea began.
(David Guttenfelder / AP)
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South Korean protesters hold candles during a rally in Seoul opposing the military exercise between South Korea and the United States.
(Park Ji-hwan / AFP - Getty Images)
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South Korean women take cover inside a bomb shelter on Yeonpyeong Island after authorities sounded the alarm over a possible North Korean rocket attack on Nov. 28. It proved to be a false alarm.
(David Guttenfelder / AP)
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A North Korean soldier, right, looks back as she and another soldier patrol on a pathway along the bank of the Yalu River near Sinuiju, North Korea, Nov. 28.
(Andy Wong / AP)
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A South Korean police car is reflected in the shattered glass of a restaurant window along a seaside road on Yeonpyeong island on Nov. 27.
(David Guttenfelder / AP)
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Former South Korean marines burn images of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, right, and his son Kim Jong Un, during a rally Nov. 27 in Seoul.
(Wally Santana / AP)
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Kim Oh-bock, mother of Seo Jung-woo, a South Korean marine killed in the Nov. 23 North Korean bombardment, cries as she holds his casket during a funeral service Nov. 27 at a military hospital in Seongnam.
(Ahn Young-joon / AP)
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South Korean protesters denouncing North Korean attack on an island close to the border between the two nations burn a North Korean flag in Seoul on Nov. 24. After North Korea's strike, South Korea and the United States said they would launch four-day naval exercises in the Yellow Sea involving an American aircraft carrier.
(Jung Yeon-Je / AFP - Getty Images)
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A picture taken off television shows the moment of impact of one of the artillery shells fired by North Korea onto the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong.
(Reuters TV)
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Related video

This picture taken by a South Korean tourist shows
huge plumes of smoke rising from Yeonpyeong Island in the disputed waters of the Yellow Sea on Nov. 23. North Korea fired dozens of artillery shells onto the South Korean island, killing two people, setting homes ablaze and triggering retaliatory fire by the South. It was one of the most serious clashes between the two sides in decades.
(AFP - Getty Images)
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Editor's note:
This image contains graphic content that some viewers may find disturbing.